Solar Energy for Community Development

by xavdubblog on 07/03/2013

Xavier Dubuisson, MD of XD Consulting, was invited to give a presentation at the Solar Energy Workshop “Reviewing the status and strategy of Ireland’s Solar Industry” organised by the Tyndall National Institute in Cork last week. This event was organised by Tyndall in conjunction with the International Energy Research Centre (IERC) and supported by Enterprise Ireland through the ENIAC FP7 project ERG (www.eniac-erg.org). The grathering and presentations demonstrated the vibrancy and quality of the research activity undertaken by Irish academic institutions and industry, and the linkage it has at international level. There was also a robust debate about the need for solar technology, in particular PV, to come out of the woods in Ireland and to be given an integral and significant part in the sustainable energy policy agenda here.

In his talk, Xavier gave an overview of XD Consulting’s work with Sustainable Energy Communities and the initial results of our Renewable Energy Roadmap project with Transition Kerry and Kerry County Council. He emphasized the rationale for solar photovoltaic energy to play a central role in community-based green energy initiatives and discussed his most recent findings on the economics of PV in Ireland – showing return on investment of at least 8% (IRR) in commercial-scale projects with conservative assumptions. With all the talk in town being about grid-parity of PV in sunnier climates (Eddie O’Connor states in his last blog that new solar PV and new coal are almost at the same price in South Africa and New Zealand), we are not far off PV becoming competitve in Ireland. Do not hesitate to contact us for details on our analysis and the services we provide in the area of solar technologies.

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XD Sustainable Energy Consulting Ltd

XD Consulting is an integrated sustainability consultancy providing multi-disciplinary advice and support in the area of renewable energy and energy efficiency. Our mission is to “empower people, organisations and communities in making the transition to a low-carbon, resilient future”.